Dream
"Eight hundred million… nine hundred million… one billion!"
In the dream, Inosuke—dressed in a haori woven from golden threads—sat atop a mountain of gold koban, grinning so hard his mouth nearly split.
At his feet, the ever-humble Butler Muzan diligently polished his shoes.
"Young Master, today's profits are incredible!"
Muzan said obsequiously.
"Mm, not bad."
Inosuke grabbed a fistful of gold, about to throw it around—
when suddenly, a scorching heat surged from his wrist.
"What the hell?! It's hot!"
He looked down. The rope connecting dream and reality had suddenly ignited in pink flames.
The fire raced along the cord, instantly setting the mountain of gold beneath him ablaze.
"AAAAAH! It's on fire! My money! My one billion gold koban!!!"
Inosuke let out a scream more agonized than death itself.
"WHO DID THIS?! Which bastard dared burn my treasury?! I'll sell you off to dig coal—FOR LIFE!"
Reality — Inside the Mugen Train
Whoosh!
Pink flames exploded inside the carriage—Nezuko's Blood Demon Art.
No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't wake her brother, so she had no choice but to burn through the strange cords binding Inosuke.
"AAAAAAH! MY MONEY!!!!!"
With a heaven-shaking roar, the previously sleeping Inosuke snapped upright like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, launching straight up from his seat—
BANG!
His head slammed into the luggage rack above.
"Clang!"
Suitcases came crashing down in all directions.
"Ow, ow, ow…"
Inosuke clutched his head, emerald eyes bloodshot.
He scanned the scene: the burning cords, Nezuko looking confused, and the girl opposite them foaming at the mouth, completely out of her mind.
"What happened?"
He shook his head. His innate сверх-keen perception instantly pieced it together.
That had been a dream.
And his one billion gold koban were gone.
A pressure so cold it felt like it could freeze the entire carriage erupted from Inosuke's body.
"Uh—"
Nearby, another child responsible for monitoring them—a sickly-looking boy holding an awl—trembled as he tried to stab the still-unconscious Tanjiro.
"Don't move! I have to complete my mission!"
"Hey."
A hand colder than ice suddenly clamped around the boy's wrist.
The boy turned—
and met Inosuke's gaze.
That beautiful face now wore a smile more terrifying than any demon's.
"Just now…"
Inosuke's voice was squeezed out through clenched teeth.
"Was it you who burned my cord?"
"Was it you who interrupted me while I was counting money?"
"Was it you, you little rat, who turned my one billion into nothing?!"
"N-no! It wasn't me—it was that girl!"
The boy was so scared he dropped the awl.
"I DON'T CARE!"
Inosuke exploded.
"You're in my carriage—so you're an accomplice! An accessory! A criminal guilty of destroying private property!"
"PAY UP!!!"
Thud!
A clean, precise chop to the back of the neck.
The boy didn't even get a chance to scream before his eyes rolled back and he collapsed.
"Hmph. Poor trash."
Inosuke brushed his hands off and turned to the girl who had already lost her mind.
She was curled up in the corner, trembling, muttering:
"Abacus… such a huge abacus… all money… so scary…"
"Looks like my defense system already educated her."
Inosuke snorted, then turned to Nezuko.
She looked a little guilty—after all, she was the one who had set the fire.
"Good job, Number Three."
Unexpectedly, Inosuke didn't get angry at all. Instead, he reached out and roughly ruffled Nezuko's hair.
"Sure, you burned my dream—but dreams aren't real anyway."
"And besides—"
He sniffed the lingering scent of her exploding blood.
"That fire burns nice and hot. Could be great for grilling squid in the future."
Nezuko blinked, then happily squinted her eyes.
"Mm!"
The Other Side of the Carriage
With this side handled, Inosuke looked over.
Rengoku Kyojuro was still asleep, arms crossed.
But beside him, the girl who had invaded his dream was currently being unconsciously strangled by Rengoku's hand, pinned to the seat and unable to move.
"Oh?"
Inosuke whistled.
"Not bad, Owl Uncle. Even asleep, your anti-theft awareness is impressive."
"Though—"
He tapped Rengoku's arm with his fan handle.
"You're squeezing a bit too hard. If she dies, nobody pays compensation."
Though Rengoku didn't wake, it was as if he sensed Inosuke's presence—his grip loosened slightly.
"Alright."
Inosuke straightened and looked out the window. The train was still racing forward.
But he could feel it—the heartbeat of the train was accelerating.
A nauseating demon aura was seeping down from the roof.
"Finally can't hold back anymore, huh?"
Inosuke touched the jagged blade at his waist.
"Trying to trap me with dreams? That's low-level stuff."
"Compared to my idiot old man, who brainwashes people so hard they're dreaming even while awake—"
He curled his lip in disdain.
"You Lower Rank are barely at the level of a new cult recruit."
Just then—
Whoosh!
Real flames burst out on Tanjiro's side.
In his dream, he had smelled Nezuko's blood, realized it was an illusion, and decisively beheaded himself inside the dream.
"Hah—hah!"
Tanjiro jolted awake, drenched in sweat, gripping his partially broken Nichirin blade.
"I'm awake! I'm awake! Everyone—"
He turned—
and saw Inosuke casually sitting there with one leg crossed, fanning himself, while the intruders lay scattered on the floor.
"I-Inosuke-kun?!"
Tanjiro was overwhelmed with relief.
"You're awake already?! Are you okay?!"
"You're slow, Fishcake Gonpachiro."
Inosuke flicked Tanjiro's forehead with his fan.
"If you'd taken any longer, I'd have made Nezuko my Number One lackey."
"I'm sorry!"
Tanjiro apologized immediately, then his expression hardened.
"Inosuke-kun, this train is wrong! That demon—its scent has fused with the train itself!
We need to wake Rengoku-san and Zenitsu right away!"
"You can't wake them."
Inosuke shook his head, pointing at Rengoku and Zenitsu.
"Their dreams are too deep. Unless they do what you did and kill themselves—
or…"
He glanced at Nezuko.
"…we let Number Three burn them a bit."
"But before that—"
Inosuke stood up. His twin blades flashed out, frost spilling into the air.
"We're paying a visit to the conductor."
That familiar, terrifying pressure erupted from him once more.
"If I don't collect this debt from him—skin and flesh included—"
"Then my name isn't Hashibira Inosuke!"
"Let's go, Gonpachiro."
Inosuke kicked open the door between carriages. Wind roared in, his haori snapping violently.
"Let's saw that daydreaming bastard in half!"
Watching his back, Tanjiro felt his panic melt away.
Inosuke-kun was loud.
Greedy.
And absolutely insufferable.
But as long as he was here—
it felt like they couldn't possibly lose.
"Yes, Inosuke-kun!"
Tanjiro gripped his sword and followed.
"Nezuko, stay here and protect everyone! If there's danger, wake Zenitsu!"
"Mm!"
Nezuko nodded hard.
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